Corbyn and the extremists: The smear campaign that disappeared up its own obscurity
Jeremy Corbyn (right), pictured with ‘extremist’ Dyab Abou Jahjah (centre) in 2009. Can any Vox Political reader name everybody they met, for a matter of hours, that year?
How remiss of Jeremy Corbyn to forget having met someone briefly, six years ago! Or is it?
Let’s put this in a personal context: Six years ago, This Writer was already a carer for Mrs Mike, and therefore would have met any number of doctors, psychiatrists and specialists dealing with her various conditions. Can I remember any of them today? No – not without prompting.
I was also in a band that performed at gigs and festivals around Wales and – in 2009 – several times in London. Can I remember meeting any notable ‘names’ during any of those occasions? No – not without prompting.
And I was carrying out freelance work for a weekly newspaper, covering for the local reporter when she was on holiday. I would have attended council meetings and court hearings. Can I remember who was there? No – not without prompting.
It seems extremely unlikely that any Vox Political reader, other than those who have had extremely few contacts with the outside world for many years, would be any different.
So it should come as no surprise that Jeremy Corbyn did not remember meeting, in that year, Dyab Abou Jahjah, described as a Lebanese activist who was later banned from the UK on grounds of extremism. As a politician, it seems likely he would meet any number of such people, visiting the UK from foreign countries, all or none of whom could turn out to be what we might colloquially describe as “wrong ‘uns”.
Yet The Guardian‘s headline is shrill. Corbyn backtracks, it states. The headline isn’t inaccurate – he did retract his previous claim – but the word “backtrack” has negative connotations, implying that he was trying to distance himself from a previous statement because it implies wrongdoing on his part.
Look at what he says, and we get a different story: “My staff have researched this and tell me that I did meet this man in 2009 but I have no recollection of him. As an MP I have met thousands of people over the years. Because I meet them, it does not mean I share their views or endorse their views.
“I’ve spent my life opposing racism. Until my dying day, I’ll be opposed to racism in any form,” he said.
“Antisemitism, Islamophobia, far-right racism is totally wrong and absolutely obnoxious and I’ve made that absolutely clear to everybody who will listen to me on this subject,” he added later, according to the newspaper.
Quite right. Yet that is what the anti-Corbyn campaigners are trying to say. It’s nonsense.
As Alex Finbow wrote on the Google+ UK Politics page: “So every foreign sec who shook the hand of an Iranian PM or [has] gone to Saudi Arabia to negotiate business contracts [is], by association, a supporter of mysogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic, sectarian and terrorist causes.
“The British government talked to the IRA for decades and eventually dialogue led to peace. Our governments have been in bed with the racist Israeli State ever since its terrorists (the Urgun, Stern gang et al), stole Palestine.
“Corbyn wants a peaceful, just solution to the Middle Eastern conflicts and, specifically, Israel/Palestine. That will only be done by talking to all the actors in that conflict. And to talk, you need to be polite to people [when] you might not like many parts of their agenda. That is diplomacy. What it isn’t, is political posturing, smearing, playing to your own audience for short term gain [or] spin.”
Dyab Abou Jahjah himself has written on Twitter in defence of Mr Corbyn, saying: “My collaboration with Jeremy Corbyn was always guided by common belief in dialogue, justice and equality of all people.”
All things considered, it seems justice would be better served by exposing the person who accused Mr Corbyn, in order to ensure that they cannot be allowed to spread any similar nonsense.
We should also note that people who have made previous claims about Mr Corbyn have – themselves – been forced to backtrack. The newspaper reported: “Last week, the Jewish Chronicle published a front-page editorial saying he had questions to answer about alleged links with people who have used antisemitic rhetoric. Since then, a group of dozens of prominent activists have signed an open letter to the newspaper saying its assertion that most British Jews were worried about a Corbyn victory was ‘without foundation’.”
There remain 30 days until the new Labour leader is finally announced.
For that period, can we please have a campaign that is based on policies, and not on wild and unfounded personal slurs?
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There is no doubt in my mind that the smear stories from the reactionary press are going to be coming thick and fast.
It strikes me more and more that election campaigns these days – for ANY election – are all about this kind of tactic of dragging the opponent’s name and reputation through the mud in-order to make oneself seem the superior choice. It’s *never* about presenting the better, more coherent and sensible argument anymore. This is what happens when the US-style politics of mud-slinging at the opponent while sweeping your own inadequacies under the rug, becomes the norm in British politics. It has to stop, before the damage becomes irreparable – and hopefully, if Corbyn becomes Labour leader, it will stop. Because the other candidates certainly seem more than happy to engage in this petty behaviour of desperately trying to incite an asinine and pointless pissing contest. It’s poor form and does no favours for their own images, such as they are. Shame on them.
Yes, this mud-slinging reflects very badly on Burnham, Cooper and Kendall – and on those Labour members who have joined in.
Havn’t successive British governments crawled up the Saudi royal family’s collective backside? Indeed, His Tonyness scuppered an inquiry in Pince Bandar and bribes?
But The Saudis are *our* despotic extremists, better that all those other ones.
Pukemaking double standards. Especially from that vile piglet Louise Mensch on Twitter.
You read Mensch the Wench’s Twitter feed?
You must have a strong stomach!
She’s repellent and defends Israel even at its most indefensible. I might get her to block me. Toby Young has already :-)
Not to mention PM Blair having Mr Gaddafi, Jr. round at Number 10 while he was at The London School of Economics. Uncle Tony even helped him with his PhD Thesis!
hum much mush more to come jc way they all frowning at his rise perhaps us peasants will have a saviour against this wicked greed of most of our mps yet it hasnt realy started they scared they now the peasants will have a say jeff3
Sad to note that the attacks on Corbyn’s person and the avoidance of a discussion of the political policies he wants to implement will continue up to the leadership election results have been announced. If he wins they will get even more shrill, inaccurate and devoid of debate as to what Corbyn has actually said.
Something else happened that very few people noticed – for about 15 minutes both the telegraph and mirror had a story that Corbyn had lobbied the Home Office to fast track the visa of an extremist. It had a photograph of the alleged letter. Then suddenly they both disappeared.
I think this is why the smear campaign suddenly stopped – the letter was fake whoever it is (likely ***** and *******) who was orchestrating this campaign got told to stop now or be exposed.
According to today’s Torygraph, Corbyn would turn Britain into Zimbabwe.
This is getting truly hilarious. Also hilarious is how stupid these self-styled ‘opinion formers’ in our free press clearly think we plebs are? I suggest that expensive schools and Oxbridge degrees does intelligence make, if these media cretins are any indication.
These far right wing scumbags will say anything to scupper any potential rival and threat to their cosy, fascist existence, they really are that perturbed by him aren’t they, so farcical this smear campaign has become, what will they think of next, Corbyn wants make all wearers of fancier underpants pay higher taxes or flog the Moon off to the Martians for under the actual recommended retail price, pathetic, time for these Hitler loving t***s to shut up and accept the inevitable!